On Finding Your Tribe

Plus Will Carver on authenticity

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

I’m writing this in the run up to Christmas. Work is finished, the cards have been sent and presents wrapped.

As I reflect on the year now closing, the abiding feeling I have is one of gratitude.

Gratitude to the members and wider community that is Caversham Writers.

Thank you for the energy and enthusiasm you bring to the group, thank you for the willingness to share and for the vulnerability you show in doing so, and thank you for the inspiration you provide.

Writing can be a lonely pursuit. At some point, it is always just you and a blank page. For most people who write, at whatever level, they are often the only people in their family and immediate circle of friends who do so.

So it helps to find others who face the same blank page and who know how that feels. My only real ambition for Caversham Writers is to be that place where you can find those people.

One of the first authors I interviewed for Caversham Writers was the wonderful Kate Wells. She was still writing as Kate Poels then, author of children’s books. (Her first adult crime novel was about to be published under the name Kate Wells.)

As we chatted before the start of the event, I told her a little about Caversham Writers and what we do. Kate was delighted to hear all about us: “It’s so important to find your tribe.”

The following week was Prompt-Write Night and the prompt I set was ‘Finding Your Tribe.’

Regulars will know that I don’t consider poetry to be my strong suit when it comes to writing. Most of what I know about poetry I’ve learnt from Caversham Writers members (and our friends at Reading Poetry Writing Meetup) but I’ve always shied away from actually trying to write it.

Except that night I did try - and here is the result.

Finding Your Tribe

When you start a new school and are more lost than found,

You find yourself searching for any common ground.

Then interests collide and friends coalesce

And you no longer feel like such a hot mess.

You’re finding your tribe.

When you’re out in the world and find a rat race,

You drift and you struggle and you don’t know your place.

Then you find fellow travelers who help ease the fear

And the road before you seems a little more clear.

You’re finding your tribe.

When you’re looking for work and the jobs come and go,

You find yourself desperate to learn and to grow.

Then mentors and workmates lend you their ear

And their help and advice lets you forge a career.

You’re finding your tribe.

Then one day you notice your life’s off the rails

And suddenly from nowhere the relationship fails.

When the bottle empties that bit more each night,

You need to make changes but do so in fright.

Your tribe will find you.

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Kate Wells latest novel, the 6th in her Malvern Farm Mystery series, is a Christmas special titled A Very Merry Murder.

And just in case you missed it, I had a catch up chat with Kate at the start of this year, a recording of which featured in this newsletter:

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In other news, our very own Maria Lloyd’s My Local Marketer Podcast continues to go from strength to strength. She recently interviewed another friend of Caversham Writers - Will Carver.

The episode is called Why Authenticity is Your Biggest USP and you can listen to it at the linked page or on your favourite podcast app. Here’s a clip from the interview:

Which begs the question - how do I write authentically?

Answering that could be a whole newsletter issue, but for now how about this approach recommended by Ray Bradbury?

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Our Next Meeting

Prompt-Write Night (online event)

Wed, Jan 7, 2026 · 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM GMT

Feeling stuck? Unblock yourself in this writing session where I set a prompt or theme for members to use as a jumping off point for an hour of writing. You can use it to write fiction or non-fiction, poetry or prose.

This event will be online via Zoom, register to attend on Meetup to get the link:

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Free To Join, Free To Attend

As you know Caversham Writers is free to join and free to attend and I want it to remain so. That doesn’t mean it is free to run, though. I organise the group meetings on Meetup.com who have seen fit to double the fees paid by group organisers over the last year.

This has led to many groups shutting down or moving platform. I like to think of Caversham Writers as a local group with a global reach and I want us to remain open to voices from all over the world. Meetup provides that global reach so I intend to stay there, but would welcome any contributions toward the costs of running the group.

So if you enjoy this free newsletter and our weekly free events, please consider helping out by buying me a coffee at the link below.